Morland Brewing - Old Crafty Hen Morland Brewing - Old Crafty Hen Morland Brewing - Old Crafty Hen Click on image to zoom More Views Int’l Bittering Units (IBUs): 41 Serving Temperature: 50-55°F Suggested Glassware: Snifter, Large Wine Glass Hops: Challenger, First Gold, Goldings, Target Malts: Pale, Crystal Read More Old Crafty Hen is a very special version of Old Speckled Hen, one of England’s more famous and classic ales. This version is blended with a 12% ABV Greene King brew known as "Old 5X," a vintage Old Ale that is not sold on its own but instead is blended into the ale you have before you now. The brewery ages Old 5X in three old oak foudres (huge barrels) for 2 to 5 years before skillfully blending it with fresh ale to create Old Crafty Hen. On the pour (even this super beer geek writer drinks from the bottle on occasion, but this is not one of them; please do pour this one), this Hen presents an attractive amber color with a head that drops plenty of lace.

Richly malty on the nose, there’s also a distinct fruity quality that only a fine ale can deliver. There’s a sweet impression along with a distinct raisiny note, prominent caramel and some bread dough. Look for a touch of butter to lend a bit of a toffee character, while hops and oak age add some floral, mildly spicy notes with hints of citrus and wood. Complex as hell on the palate, expect a prominent dark fruit character composed of cherry, raisin, and currants, all surrounded by robust, satisfying caramel malts which deliver some honey notes as well. We found this crafty brew fairly sweet, but there’s a moderate hop bitterness and a hint of tartness (thanks to the aged 5X) to balance, along with just a hint of spicy, drying alcohol. A touch of buttery diacetyl is a hallmark of many English ales, and we get some here, as well as mild oak notes and slight hints of oxidation from the prolonged barrel aging, which provide a sherry-like component. A wood-aged beer from England is very unusual these days, and we’re very pleased Morland/Greene King are keeping the tradition alive.

Enjoy this fine brew on its own, or pair with a plate of complex cheeses. Cheers! Tasting Notes Old Crafty Hen is a very special version of Old Speckled Hen, one of England’s more famous and classic ales. This version is blended with a 12% ABV Greene King brew known as "Old 5X," a vintage Old Ale that is not sold on its own but instead is blended into the ale you have before you now. The brewery ages Old 5X in three old oak foudres (huge barrels) for 2 to 5 years before skillfully blending it with fresh ale to create Old Crafty Hen. On the pour (even this super beer geek writer drinks from the bottle on occasion, but this is not one of them; please do pour this one), this Hen presents an attractive amber color with a head that drops plenty of lace. Richly malty on the nose, there’s also a distinct fruity quality that only a fine ale can deliver. There’s a sweet impression along with a distinct raisiny note, prominent caramel and some bread dough.

Look for a touch of butter to lend a bit of a toffee character, while hops and oak age add some floral, mildly spicy notes with hints of citrus and wood. Complex as hell on the palate, expect a prominent dark fruit character composed of cherry, raisin, and currants, all surrounded by robust, satisfying caramel malts which deliver some honey notes as well. We found this crafty brew fairly sweet, but there’s a moderate hop bitterness and a hint of tartness (thanks to the aged 5X) to balance, along with just a hint of spicy, drying alcohol. A touch of buttery diacetyl is a hallmark of many English ales, and we get some here, as well as mild oak notes and slight hints of oxidation from the prolonged barrel aging, which provide a sherry-like component. A wood-aged beer from England is very unusual these days, and we’re very pleased Morland/Greene King are keeping the tradition alive. Enjoy this fine brew on its own, or pair with a plate of complex cheeses. Cheers! Morland Brewing (Greene King) - (Bury St.

Edmunds, Suffolk, England) Old Speckled Hen | Greene King / Morland Brewery | BeerAdvocate Greene King / Morland Brewery Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.20% Availability: Year-round No notes at this time. Added by Quaffer on 10-23-2000 BEER STATS 3.05/5 rDev -12.1% look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2.75 Clear bottle leaves a skunky aroma which is a big negative. Flavor is mostly overly sweet caramel malt notes, hints of skunk from the aroma, grain and bread, some bitterness at the end of the swallow. Very mediocre and this beer could be helped a ton by the use of some light filtering bottle like dark brown glass and better packaging.

336 characters 2.44/5 rDev -29.7% look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 5 | overall: 1.5 With a bold amber color with many tiny bubbles as though it came from the draft, the beer has mild caramels and biscuity flavors, all getting overpowered with the flowery hops that segway into the aftertaste. It does have a creamy pure mouthfeel, but gets more bitter with time. While the mouthfeel is fantastic, it’s too bitter to be enjoyable. 347 characters 3.87/5 rDev +11.5% look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75 Old English Hen is a very good English Ale with a nice color and smell. Low carbonation so it has a nice mouth feel. It does have an aftertaste that is not great but still a nice beer.

184 characters 4.35/5 rDev +25.4% look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 Old Speckled Hen brewed by Greene King / Morland Brewery, with an ABV of about 5.00% This English Pale Ale pours out a nice copper gold color with a smaller off white head. There is a decent amount of lacing to this ale, it is a bit thin and spoty. The smell of Specked Hen bold with sweetness possibly a caramel or peanut brittle. There is also some nice roasted grians and malts, in the smell of this brew. Really nice inviting brew. Now for the taste, it is mild but rich with flavors. This brew has a real nice balance to it. I really like how the roasted grians and malts mixed with the caramel sweetness. This is not a real hoppy brew, not saying that is a bad thing. There is nothing overpowering about this brew, it goes nice and smooth.

The mouth feel of Old Speckled Hen is Mild, Roasted, Sweet, Clean and Refreshing. This is a fine drinking English Pale Ale. Overall I'm giving Old Speckled Hen, a 4.25 out of 5. I would buy this brew again. If you are looking for something a tad bit different look this brew up. Greene King / Morland Brewery, did a nice job with this one. 1,087 characters 3.66/5 rDev +5.5% look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5 Out of a Nitro can: Bright Amber hue, pours and settled nicely with a thick, creamy 2 inch head and bright Amber hue. Very much like from pubs in UK. Classic UK bitter pale ale with more complexity, sweeter and darker amber hue. Superior to Bodingtons, the other nitro butter widely available in the US.

303 characters 4.44/5 rDev +28% look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5 Old Speckled Hen | Greene King / Morland Brewery. Poured from the bottle into a pint glass, this brew's head is two fingers thick and off-white, with solid lacing, and a clear reddish amber body. I smell a pleasant honey bicuit malt accented with toffee and slightly fruity yeast. Hops are rather delicate&hardly there, but this IS an English(literally) pale ale, so what elese would one expect? Tastes like a slighty drier, yet refreshing version of the aroma. I can defintely tell this was brewed with hard water, which is not to say this is a bad thing by any means. Gives it more authenticity, IMO. I think it adds to the balancing bitterness akin to the hops mentioned on the labeling. The mouthfeel is medium-light with mild carbonation. Overall, I'll choose to give Old Speckled Hen | Greene King / Morland Brewery a 4.5.

A sessionable UK-born pale ale that I could knock back all night at a pub, preferably the Jockey of "Shameless" lore. 990 characters 4.16/5 rDev +19.9% look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 Pours a definite light brown/caramel color, with a very light body head but good carbonation. Surprisingly descent lacing, disputed the lack of head. Smells kinda boozy when you first open the bottle but after u give it a little time, the spicy notes take over. Initial taste is slightly hoppy, sweet and creamy, then a slightly spicy but mild aftertaste. Overall I was totally impressed with this brew and will be looking for more 435 characters 4.47/5 rDev +28.8% look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75 A fine pale ale, not in the least bit overhopped as seems to be the trend these days.

Beautifully balanced and smooth... ish. There's an edge there, but I don't know how to describe it: it's not non-smooth, it's something else (that I like). To me this is a straightforward beer: malt, hops, balance, yum. 305 characters look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.5 Pours garnet-brown and peach with a thick, quick-dissipating head and medium lacing. This is my go-to brew for drinking alongside meals (read: curries) back home in the UK. As such, while being nothing spectacular, it has more complexity than other widely available pub and supermarket ales. On both the nose and tongue, standard grainy malts are chased by notes sweet tobacco and toffee. The mouthfeel has to be the downside, admittedly being quite a flat affair.

466 characters 3.73/5 rDev +7.5% look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75 This is a balanced English ale. It doesn't attack you with huge hops or espresso notes, it has a pleasant malt flavor and it was introduced to celebrate MG'S 50th anniversary. That makes it perfect to take to local British car shows. I like it. I prefer Fuller's for British ales, but this is 2/3 of the price and good enough for me with family and cheeseburgers on the deck. Cheers! 389 characters look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 Appearance: Copper color, crystal clear. Lots of bubble streaming. Small frothy head. Aroma: Toffee, caramel, fruity, a little earthy-herbal. Taste/Finish/Body: Med-roasted malts, caramel, toffee, a little nutty.

Bitterness is medium, mostly tea-like, herbal, a little earthy. Finish is dry and smooth. Medium bodied, crisp, dry, highly drinkable. Overall: It's an excellent English Pale Ale/ESB. 404 characters 4.19/5 rDev +20.7% look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 Pours a mahogany orange brown with medium to low carbonation. Not much aroma from this bottle but taste is very smooth and flavorful. Excellent mouthfeel annd generally enjoyable to drink. Some malt and fruit but overall easy drinking fun. 239 characters 3.97/5 rDev +14.4% look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4 This is a nice, very drinkable beer. The taste and smell are very smooth, and the beer is a nice, medium dark color. I hope to find this beer again for another drink date.

171 characters 3.77/5 rDev +8.6% look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 I have a soft spot in my heart for this beer. I drank 12 or so on Christmas day in 2006, having been dumped by my girlfriend on Christmas eve. Why would I have fond memories of this beer? I have no idea, so I decided to revisit it. It's a pretty beer, clear, with a nice copper color. Smells good, sweet and of malts. Tastes much as it smells, with a touch of bitterness. Verdict: not a bad beer, but best when you're heartbroken in the heart of winter.

462 characters 3.77/5 rDev +8.6% look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 A; crystal clear; bronze in color; 1 finger off white head that receded to a wispy cap; OK lacing; S: caramel, toffee, earthy, a bit of tobacco; T: sweet caramel malt up front that fades into toffee; tobacco is very noticeable from the middle to the end; mild bitterness on the finish; M: medium bodied; light to moderate carbonation; lightly dry finish; O: easy drinking; look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5 How have I never had this before? On nitro tap. Pours a light caramel color with neat, backwards cascading bubbles. Tight, white nitro head, which looks pretty on a stout but weirdly synthetic on a pale: Smells like Bass and nitrogen.

British pales always smell a little stale at first, til my nose adjusts to the sweetness. Tastes... Like a fruitier Bass. Also like nitrogen. Little caramel, some overripe fruit, and then clean gas. 440 characters 4.05/5 rDev +16.7% look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 Not as brown as I had hoped, but a nice drinkable beer. Amber in color (should I say colour? :-) with thick white head. The smell is pure sweet caramel malt). The taste is a refreshing blend between a boring lager and an English brown, malty, sweet with just enough subtle hops to cut the sweetness. Not my normal type of beer, but I could easily drink these all night long. 374 characters 4.59/5 rDev +32.3% look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5 First time I've tried this ale. Fantastic from start to finish. Easy drinkability.

I believe this will become one of my all time favorites, but there are a lot of beers I haven't tried yet. I will definitely share this with friends. Sweet aroma on opening the bottle, smooth and very balanced. I have yet to pour it into a glass. 331 characters look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 Poured a 500ml bottle into a beer glass. I'm very surprised at the average reviews for this beer. I used to get tanked up on this beer in my local pub during my late teens and early 20's where it was available on cask. I've drank it a few times since. I was given this bottle by a supplier. Nice light to medium-brown. Typical of the style. Good fluffy head. Hung around and left a bit of lacing. Beautiful, complex nose with lots of biscuity malts, bread, caramel and toffee. Biscuit predominates. Palate is very smooth and well balanced. Malty and complex with some hoppy fruits as well. Mouth medium to full and quite creamy. Nice feel.

Overall a very good example of the style. Typical English bitter; complex malty and very well balanced. Great beer. Highly recommended. look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5 Pours a clear 24 karat gold with a +1" head of foam. Some lacing. Malty nose with fruity hop presence. Overall sweet and fruity aromas. The taste has that discernable English hop taste that leans towards the fruity along with sweetish and bready malt notes. I'd say of the fruit, I get mostly lemon and the malt has quite a bit of caramel and some nutty notes. Light bodied with light carbonation. Some light toasted malt to go with this ESB. .I have to say that this tickles my fancy. Despite the fact that it comes in a clear bottle. 543 characters look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5 A: poured a clear copper color with about a finger of head with excellent retention.

S: Biscuity malts, caramel, bread, clean, understated British flavors. T: Malts predominate, a bit of bitterness and astringency on the back end. Pretty good for a British beer. M: a little thin, but still fresh and good to go. 316 characters 3.66/5 rDev +5.5% look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75 APPEARANCE: Poured into pint glass from the nitro pint can. Leaves an ultra creamy 1"+ eggshell head that sticks around. Leaves incredible creamy lacing down the glass. After the cascading effect the beer is a very clear dark amber. AROMA: Sweet toffee/caramel and a nice earthy note. TASTE: Very mild toffee and a little mild earthy spice. FEEL: Creamy and smooth. Quite thin body. A little slick and it dries up a little on the finish. OVERALL: A very mild, smooth brew, in both taste and feel.

498 characters Old Speckled Hen | Greene King / Morland Brewery | BeerAdvocate Greene King / Morland Brewery Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.20% Availability: Year-round No notes at this time. Added by Quaffer on 10-23-2000 BEER STATS Reviews by the Alström Bros : 3.51/5 rDev +1.2% look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4 Presentation: On draft @ The Pheonix Landing, Central Square, Cambridge, MA. Appearance: Deep hazy amber, with a rich look to it. A creamy off-white head site a top, stays and sticks (poured through a Nitro system). Smell: Semi-medicinal aroma with hidden sweet malts in the background. Taste: Extremely smooth. Well rounded mouthfeel. Toasted, caramel and sweet malt flavours (likened to unfermented wort). A bit of a spicy, lemony hop flavour begins about 3/4 of the way through and dries, then balances the malt profile.

Finishes sweet with a bit of medicinal flavour. Notes: This is a fairly rich, robust and extremely drinkable Pale Ale. Makes for a great session beer as it goes down with no effort. 717 characters 4.03/5 rDev +16.1% look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 4 I thought I'd had this beer before. But it sure didn't seem all that familiar once I opened it! L (4.5): Beautiful color. Deep copper/red color to it. Almost photograph worthy, really S (4): Had this intriguing fruity/brandy/port wine smell to it. I almost thought it was barrel aged or something. T (4.25): Again, this fruity/brandy/port wine taste to it. Not a lot, and not distracting. But really tasty. I might be crazy, but I just couldn't shake it. (Not that this is a bad thing either!) Not hoppy at all, but I don't know if it really should be. F (3): Nothing to write home about here. Not much of a mouthfeel. Smooth, but unexciting.

No head really. Some of this is nature of the style, but I expected a little more here. Overall (4): Solid beer. I am going to purchase another one next time I'm at the beer store. 848 characters look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25 Poured into an Irish pint glass. Look: Copper, English breakfast tea. Light cream colored head recedes to a wisp, no lacing. Aroma: Faint caramel malts, some skunk from the clear bottle. Taste: Mostly malt sweetness, some toffee, sour hop finish, some skunkiness. Mouthfeel: Medium bodied. Overall: The skunkiness ruins a lot of this. The canned version would be a good bet. 379 characters 3.66/5 rDev +5.5% look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75 APPEARANCE: Poured into pint glass from the nitro pint can.

Leaves an ultra creamy 1"+ eggshell head that sticks around. Leaves incredible creamy lacing down the glass. After the cascading effect the beer is a very clear dark amber. AROMA: Sweet toffee/caramel and a nice earthy note. TASTE: Very mild toffee and a little mild earthy spice. FEEL: Creamy and smooth. Quite thin body. A little slick and it dries up a little on the finish. OVERALL: A very mild, smooth brew, in both taste and feel. 498 characters 3.88/5 rDev +11.8% look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled on 11/30/2013. Pours crystal clear reddish copper color with a 1 finger dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with some moderate streaming carbonation.

Aromas of caramel, toast, brown bread, plum, apple, honey, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, yeast ester, and earthy hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of caramel, toast, brown bread, plum, apple, nuttiness, light roast, herbal, grass, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Light earthy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toast, brown bread, nuttiness, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice balance and robustness of dark/bready malt, earthy hops, and yeast ester flavors; with a good malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Very clean in flavor as well. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied; with a very smooth and fairly creamy/bready mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with no warming present after the finish as expected of 5%. Overall this is a very nice English pale ale!

All around good balance and robustness of dark/bready malt, earthy hops, and yeast ester flavors; and very smooth to drink. A very enjoyable offering. 1,417 characters 3.68/5 rDev +6.1% look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 Enjoyed on draught in a pub. The color was something between a dark yellow and a light amber, with a very thin, milk-white head and lacing. The head disappeared very quickly and the lacing was minimal. It primarily of malt and hops with a slight toffee sweetness. The taste really follows the nose: primarily malty with biscuit, nuts, and faint butterscotch. It is rather bland but very easy to drink given its light body, low carbonation, and low ABV. This is a classic sessionable pub ale. You can drink a lot of it without feeling it. Overall, this isn't an ale to savor but it is great to drink with friends in a pub.

632 characters look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1 Nitro-can. Words cannot express how nasty I found this beer to be. I have NEVER dumped part of any beer, but I was pretty much tempted to toss half this can. A=The best part. Dark brown with a decent head. S= Just plain nasty. T= Disgusting, skunked. M= Too thick for my taste, probably about right for this style though. D= With a smell and taste this noxious, I can't see anyone asking for a second. 419 characters 3.77/5 rDev +8.6% look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75 I have a soft spot in my heart for this beer. I drank 12 or so on Christmas day in 2006, having been dumped by my girlfriend on Christmas eve. Why would I have fond memories of this beer? I have no idea, so I decided to revisit it.

It's a pretty beer, clear, with a nice copper color. Smells good, sweet and of malts. Tastes much as it smells, with a touch of bitterness. Verdict: not a bad beer, but best when you're heartbroken in the heart of winter. 462 characters 3.48/5 rDev +0.3% look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4 I have had this a few times and always think its gonna be better each time I drink it,its not a bad beer but just seems to be missing a little something.Pours a deep copper/amber with a light head,aroma is slightly musty and malty.A pretty big pale ale nice maltiness but I would like maybe some more fruitiness to it.It is a pretty drinkable ale for the big maltiness.

369 characters 3.29/5 rDev -5.2% look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4 "Old Speckled Hen" English Pale Ale poured from a Nitro-can into a pint glass. 5.2% alcohol. 14.9 fluid oz. A- Pours a brilliant pale orange fluid with massive and lingering off white sticky head that leaves huge fluffy lacing on glass. S- Light scents of sweet malts and tangy hop spice. Almost an alcohol estery scent lingering as well. T-M- Taste is off toasted sweet malts, mild flat floral hops and creamy buttered bread fininsh. Mouthfeel is creamy and smooth with little to distiguish it from others of its kind. D- Well as most nitro-can english pub ales this is a session beer in all aspects. Drink up and cheers! 626 characters 3.21/5 rDev -7.5% look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5 An OK beer.

Amber color with a thick white head and some lacing. It had a sweet, grainy aroma, pretty nondescript. Taste also pretty nondescript; sweet,bready, a little hops. Decent mouthfeel, and drinkable. I'm not a huge fan of most British beers, so I'm probably knocking some points off for that. 300 characters 3.93/5 rDev +13.3% look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 Poured from the bottle into a pint glass, the beer is a crystal-clear dark reddish-amber with an offiwhite head. The aroma is caramel and biscuit with a bit of underlying spice and earthiness. Taste is malt forward at first; toffee and bread followed by a bit of spicy hops with a middle bittering bit, a hint of fruit comes in. then it finishes with a slight bitterness. There's also a flavor in there that I can't quite figure out. It's not unpleasant, I just can't put a name to it. Mouthfeel is medium-smooth.

3.8/5 rDev +9.5% look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4 Very bright dark gold with a creamy white head. The nose is butterscotch and Schlitz all the way. Starts out with a good butterscotch base (diacetyl?) with a slight but noticeable lemon/spice hoppy bite. I noticed a slight tang, sort of an "English beer from a can" flavor halfway through that I found distracting. I've noticed this before in this beer - maybe it's a hop thing? Pours down extremely easy, with light to medium body. A nice session beer, even if there are others I'd prefer. 493 characters 3.33/5 rDev -4% look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5 Very appleish hop aroma, amber gold color, carmelly taste, the regular nitro smooth mouth feel, sweetness seems to stay but carmel taste disappears, what first seems creamy turns a little flat towards the end. Slight bitterness comes on at the end.

I would drink somebody else's but would never buy a 4 pack 307 characters look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2 This was an average brew at best. 33 characters 3.45/5 rDev -0.6% look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5 Presentation: It was poured from a clear 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. The label lists the abv at 5.2%. Appearance: It has a light amber body with good clarity and a small quick fading white head. Smell: The aroma is light overall. The hops are up front and offer very light mineral like notes with a slight skunked presence over a very pale thin malt. Taste / Palate: The flavor has a nice bready maltiness up front along with some mild caramel and toffee sweetness. Hop flavor comes in quickly and adds some dryness and mellow bitterness to the finish.

561 characters morland brewery : definition of morland brewery and synonyms of morland brewery (English) 5 External links History West Ilsley in Berkshire was the original home of the Morland Brewery. A farmer, John Morland, set up a brewery in 1711, and the local ale and porter was sought after in London 's public houses . During the 1860s, Morland acquired the Child family's Abbey Brewery in Abingdon and then the Eagle Brewery in the same town. The West Ilsley operation relocated to Abingdon in the 1880s. A malthouse attached to the brewery was demolished to provide the site for the new brewery. Morland became a limited company , registered in 1885 as United-Breweries and the company's trademark became a pyramid of three beer barrels. In 1889, Morlands took over O. B. Saxby & Co of Stert Street, Abingdon and Field & Sons Brewery in Shillingford . On the end of each of Morland's barrel was the initial of the old breweries with whom they had amalgamated.

All the breweries that Morlands closed still had their own name and trademark added to their own beer labels, even though all the beer was brewed in the Abingdon Brewery. Soon afterwards, Thomas Skurray was invited to join the Morlands business. He had studied brewing on the continent and his knowledge, coupled with an astute business brain, enabled the company to achieve considerable growth over the next fifty years. He could well be described as one of the early entrepreneurs of the brewing industry, and he was to serve a term as Chairman of the 'Brewers' Society'. Not only was he instrumental in building a new maltings in 1908, a soft drinks factory in 1910 and a replacement brewhouse in 1912, but he had already developed a malt extract plant in the old Abbey Brewery.

Morland's growth continued with the acquisition of: Ferguson & Sons' Angel Brewery of Broad Street, Reading in 1899 The Wantage Brewery Dymore-Brown & Sons of Queens Road, Reading in 1927 Hewett & Co of Shurlock Row near Maidenhead in 1927 The Tower Steam Brewery, owned by Messrs Belcher and Habgood, was purchased in 1928 together with their public houses in and around Abingdon. The Brewery Buildings were used as a garage and vehicle repair centre by Morlands (also the home of the Royal British Legion , Abingdon), until 1987. Morlands then sold the site to the Vale of White Horse district council for the development of the Tower Close Housing Estate. In 1944 Morland became a public limited company and all the previous brewery names were dropped. Morland was now known as Morland and Co Ltd, later Morland and Co plc. The exception was Ferguson's Ltd, which was retained for the wine and spirits business.

[1] In 1994, the distribution depot in Ock Street moved in to a new large warehouse in Abingdon which was formerly owned and operated by Bass-Charrington Brewery , which cost £1.5 million. Greene King brewery acquired Morland in 2000. Morland buildings Brewery buildings A lot of the brewery buildings are still standing. The old joiners shop & paint store, malthouse cottages, and the big Malthouse which became Morlands offices and stores. Also area office & store of Bell Amusements Ltd, a fruit machine company Morlands took over from Northampton . In the middle of the old Malthouse cottages was an old stable which Mr A. J. Steel would use as his studio in which he painted new inn & pub signs. Ock-lea which was the Brewers House and home of the Morland family in 1861 when they took over the Eagle Brewery from a bankrupt William Belcher. The Auction was held opposite the brewery in the old Cock & Tree pub.

Jim Dymore-Brown, Head Brewer, lived in a very large wooden house behind the old brewery which had to be demolished when Morlands built a large air-conditioned draught beer warehouse. Public Houses and restaurants In 1991, Morland and Co plc purchased 101 public houses from Courage Ltd and a further 100 were added two years later from Whitbread . More purchases were made in the mid 1990s, and also a number of restaurants nationwide. Morland opened their own restaurants called Artist Fayer. All these extra pubs placed enormous strain on all sections of the business particularly distribution, which was now required to deliver to a very much enlarged area. Beer Bottle of Old Speckled Hen (MG Anniversary Brew) Tanners Jack ale, named after the leather tankards popular in the 18th Century Old Speckled Hen Old Speckled Hen was first brewed by Morlands of Abingdon in 1979. MG cars celebrated the 50th anniversary of their move to Abingdon, from Edmund Road in Cowley .

They asked Morland to brew a special commemorative beer for the occasion, for which they would suggest the name and they would design the bottle label. The name chosen was Old Speckled Hen which took its name from a car which was brought to Abingdon, when the factory moved. The car was called the MG Featherweight Fabric Saloon made from cellulosed fabric stretched over a wooden frame and was black speckled with gold. It became the factory's demonstration model and general runabout and as it chugged about the factory people would say "There guz the Owd Speckl'd un". The original beer label bore the MG colours of cream and brown. The bottle dressing was finished with a green foil capsule, which matched the background colour of the Borough of Abingdon Arms . The beer was an amber colour and was brewed at a gravity of 1050 to denote 50 years (i.e. 1929 - 1979) of production of MG cars in Abingdon. Others Morlands Original, Old Speckled Hen, Hens-Tooth and Tanners-Jack are all still brewed by Greene King of Bury St Edmunds under Morland's Brewing.

References ^ Frank Baillie. The Beer Drinker's Companion (1973 ed.). David & Charles, Newton Abbot. pp. 196–198. ISBN 0-7153-6201-1 . External links Greene King | Other Greene King beers Accessibility Other Greene King Beers Our well-known beers – like Greene King IPA and Old Speckled Hen – are available all year around. But we also brew seasonal and craft ales for beer lovers who like a bit of variety! OUR 2016 SEASONAL ALES Our seasonal ales give you an even wider choice of beer at the bar. You won’t see these beers in the pubs all year round – so when you do, enjoy! We have some new and innovative Greene King speciality beers for 2017 including ‘Patron Saints Ale’, ‘Amarillo Single Hop Session IPA, ‘Bermuda Joes’ and ‘Tequila Mockingbird’. That’s on top of our full Belhaven seasonal calendar, which is available to the whole of Great Britain.

We have a new Belhaven ale – ‘Wembley 67’ – brewed as a tribute to Scotland’s brief period as unofficial football World Champions in 1967. Another limited edition beer, ‘Grubber’, will be available in many of our pubs to accompany all of the Six Nations action this year too! Finally, in partnership with specially selected regional British breweries throughout 2017, we’re brewing some fantastic collaboration beers that combine new, quality ingredients with our brewers’ expertise and passion for the craft. If you like the sound of our seasonal ales, check out the calendar so you know when to look out for them at your local. CASK-CONDITIONED BEERS AND BREWERY-CONDITIONED BEERS – AVAILABLE ALL YEAR ROUND Cask-conditioned beers are often referred to as cask or real ales and include beer we brew all year round that continues to mature in the cask. Brewery-conditioned beers are often referred to as keg ales. They are filtered or pasteurised to give a longer shelf-life. Carbonation is then added when the beer is dispensed.

East Coast IPA Crafted using only the finest American hops, this 4% fusion ale pairs the punchy citrus aroma of American style IPAs with the easy-drinking flavour of the finest English pale ale. Cold, gold and beautifully bold, East Coast IPA is a triple-hopped celebration of all that is good about our two great brewing nations. Available as: Brewery-conditioned and bottled. Tolly English Ale This fine amber ale has been brewed using a complex mix of hops to offer balanced bitterness with strong tropical notes. All the flavour you would expect from a great English ale but at only 2.8% ABV Available as: Cask-conditioned and bottled. St Edmunds St Edmunds is a fresh, golden beer with a citrus finish, brewed using pale malt and cascade hops. Crafted for modern tastes using traditional brewing methods, this is the perfect introduction to real beer. It’s also award-winning, picking up a 2014 Monde Gold Award Available as: Cask-conditioned. Greene King XX Mild A CAMRA Champion Mild of East Anglia 2009, this is a cask mild traditionally brewed using dark malt to give a sweet and roasted flavour. Available as: Cask-conditioned.

Olde Trip Taking its name from the world famous Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, which lays claim to being England's oldest inn, this is a rich, toffee-flavoured beer bursting with fruity character that is perfectly balanced with a clean, bitter finish. Available as: Cask-conditioned. Morland Original Morland Original is a moreish and refreshing beer with a subtle malt and fruit character and a pronounced, bitter finish. Available as: Cask-conditioned. Ruddles County Originally from England's smallest county – Rutland – Ruddles County is an English ale with a distinctive flavour of dark toffee and caramel combined with a crisp bitterness derived from using rare Bramling Cross hops. Available as: Cask-conditioned, bottled and canned. Ruddles Best This is an English ale with hoppy, citrus undertones balanced with bitterness and a light sweetness. It has an aroma that is packed with soft fruit notes and a clean, moreish finish. Available in cask, smooth and sparkling. Available as: Cask-conditioned and brewery-conditioned. Hardys & Hansons Bitter Hardys & Hansons Bitter is a brew with an excellent balance of sweetness and bitterness that combines with a subtle hop character.

This is a distinctive beer with a full and satisfying finish. Available as: Cask-conditioned. Hardys & Hansons Cool This is a smooth, well-hopped ale with a good balance of sweetness and robust bitterness. It is brewed using pale malt with challenger and goldings hops and is available in smooth only. Available as: Brewery-conditioned. Hardys & Hansons Dark Mild Hardys & Hansons Dark Mild is a traditional dark keg mild, rich ruby in colour with nutty and roast flavours coming through in the aftertaste. It is available in smooth only. Available as: Brewery-conditioned. London Glory A celebratory ale created by the master brewers of Greene King for the nation's capital city. Centuries of expertise and craftsmanship have come together to produce this rich and fruity brew that combines crystal malt with challenger and goldings hops. Available as: Cask-conditioned British Brewer » Blog Archive » Recipe: Old Speckled Hen (version 1) Recipe: Old Speckled Hen (version 1) Posted by British Brewer in Recipes Online version with calculator can be found here .

Next up in the series on Old Ales and Browns is another classic Old Ale available in both the UK and US, Old Speckled Hen , brewed by Greene King after its acquisition of the Morland Brewery in 2000. We have already covered the history of Greene King with the Abbot Ale recipe last year but Morland also has an interesting past. Prior to its acquisition by Greene King, the Morland Brewery was located in Abingdon, now part of Oxfordshire, in the UK and has a history dating back to 1711. The original brewery was located in the town of West Ilsley started by a local farmer John Morland to brew stouts and porters, the popular ales of the time. Over the next 150 years the brewery slowly grew, remaining a family business, eventually acquiring 2 small breweries in nearby Abingdon in 1860. By 1880 Morland had moved its operations from West Ilsley to Abingdon and by 1885 they incorporated as a limited company registered as United Breweries. From this point on the company grew rapidly, buying out a number of local breweries.

The company went public in 1994 and was acquired by Greene King in 2000. Throughout its history the company had a reputation for respecting the breweries they acquired, maintaining the original brewery names and brews. Post Greene King acquisition though only the Morland name survived, the Abingdon brewery did not and all production is now in the Greene King brewery based in Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, UK. The history of Old Speckled is not so old but is definitely one worth noting. I found this description on wikipedia : Old Speckled Hen was first brewed by Morlands of Abingdon in 1979. MG cars celebrated the 50th anniversary of their move to Abingdon, from Edmund Road in Cowley . They asked Morland to brew a special commemorative beer for the occasion, for which they would suggest the name and they would design the bottle label. The name chosen was Old Speckled Hen which took its name from a car which was brought to Abingdon, when the factory moved. The car was called the MG Featherweight Fabric Saloon made from cellulosed fabric stretched over a wooden frame and was black speckled with gold.

It became the factory’s demonstration model and general runabout and as it chugged about the factory people would say “There guz the Owd Speckl’d un”. The original beer label bore the MG colours of cream and brown. The bottle dressing was finished with a green foil capsule, which matched the background colour of the Borough of Abingdon Arms . The beer was an amber colour and was brewed at a gravity of 1050 to denote 50 years (i.e. 1929 – 1979) of production of MG cars in Abingdon. According the company website the ale is described as: “Old Speckled Hen” has a full, smooth flavour and is very easy to drink. Its rich amber colour and superb fruity aromas are complemented by a delicious blend of malty tastes. Toffee and malt combine with bitterness on the back of the tongue to give a balanced sweetness. This is followed by a refreshingly dry finish. I can attest to the validity of the above notes for the pre-1999 version. In my experience the current export version is not as balanced or as rich and comes across a little dialed down in the flavour department.

Not to worry though as is what this blog is about, trying to recreate the original and sample the ale fresh as John Morland intended. The company website gives nothing away around ingredients, colour, or bitterness. It states the ale comes in 2 varieties, a cask version at 4.5% ABV and a bottled version at 5.2%. We will focus on the bottled. I consulted with the The Real Ale Almanac (5th edition, last published in 1999, so prior to the Greene King acquisition. Important to note considering many experts on this beer claim the recipe was changed) and it confirms the bottle strength is 5.2% ABV, with an OG of 1050 (a given considering the history of the ale), uses Pipkin Pale Malt as a base, Crystal Malt, brewers sugar, Challenger hops for bitterness, Goldings and Challenger for aroma with a range of 30-35 IBUs of bitterness.

Here are the tasting notes from the Almanac: Nose: Superb Goldings hop aroma (considering using Goldings for a flavour addition at the end of the boil) Palate: Full hops and fruit in mouth, long dry finish with hops and delicate fruit notes

Question: Morland Brewery, brewers of Old Speckled Hen, was bought in 2000 by which other brewery?
Answer: GREENE KING